Sophies Nightmares: Rise of the Guardians
by Cinamon Stick
Summary: As a young girl, the Easter Bunny was more than a legend, he was her friend. Now that he's left, his memory has left her with no one to share her secrets with. No one has beieve her for years, and the Nightmares... She ends up a wrecked teen, trying to cling on while the darkness pervails. Can Bunnymund stop what he caused?


A girl, about fifteen, walks down the street with her five year old sister. They're going to the egg hunt down the street. Mind you, she was far too old to really think an Easter Bunny comes in the night, hiding eggs for them to find. To anyone else, it would seem the only reason she was going was for her mother was making her bring her sister to the egg hung.

To anyone, it was justifiable that Sophie went for her sister, but she had other reasons to go to the egg hunt.

When they reached the grassy field, Sophie squinted in the sunlight for a moment, before her eyes adjusted and she could see the deep blue sky and dark green grass. Her sister started forward on clumsy limbs, and she followed close behind. She was a little over-protective of her sister, because she knew that where there was the joy and regrowth of Easter there was the darkness in its shadows.

"Look!" her sister cried, pointing to a bright blue egg, just out of her reach.

Sophie smiled, "That one, Kellie?" she picked her up, letting Kellie grab it herself. The girl stumbled, stopping the small thing. Sophie quickly caught it. Setting her sister down, she handed her the egg, smiling as she watched her little sister laugh.

"Alright, in the basket," she said, "There's a lot more to go.

Her sister placed it carefully in the purple wicker basket they'd brought along.

As her sister toddled off to a bush where more eggs were hidden, Sophie straightened up. She'd seen something in the trees. It was a tall man, covered in silver fur. He had two large ears that stood straight up, elongating his flattened face. Sophie saw him, but ignored its presence, ducking her head and following after Kellie. She shouldn't have come. What was she looking for anyways? Seeing him just made the belief stronger, made the reality hard to hide. The Bunny watched her silently.

She found her sister half under the bush, crawling out with an armful of pastel eggs. The little girl had dirt smudges on her elbows and one on her small nose. She looked like the little kids you'd see in commercials, with blonde hair and a smattering of freckles. Just like her sister.

Sophie brought the basket to her, setting it down and watching as she poured the arm full of eggs into it. She glanced behind her to see that the Bunny was gone, to her relief.

When the basket was almost full and Kellie couldn't lift it anymore, Sophie lifted it, taking her sister by the hand. They made their way past the children still collecting.

"More!" Kellie cried.

"Kell, we need to leave some for the rest," Sophie answered.

Kellie frowned but nodded.

"Alright, let's get you cleaned up," she said, placating as they made their way down the street leading to their home, "then you can go over to Anna's house,"

She took Kellie home, whipping away her dirt smudges before sending her off to their neighbor's house. Then She went to the kitchen where her mother was making dinner.

She leaned against the counter.

"I'm gonna go to the lake, ok?" she said to her mom.

"Alright, Soph. Be back before it gets too late. You're brother's coming over,"

That was a surprise, "Jamie's visiting?"

Her mother nodded, a small smile on her face as she turned the brisket over.

Sophie loved to see her brother, who had recently left for college, but he brought back so many confusing memories. She strapped on her boots and made her way out the back door. She needed to end this. Now.

The grass was beginning to grow in around the yard. Green was everywhere- in the trees, the flower beds, the earth. It smelled of slush and earth, so peaceful and clean after the long winter.

When Sophie reached the edge of the lake, now clean and clear, shining a soft blue like the sky, she sat down, knowing he'd come. It had been a decade since she's spoken to him, and even then that conversation was blurry, lost in the naïve thoughts of a child.

There was a rustling behind her, but she didn't move. Instead she stared at a rock near the edge.

"Sophie?" a deep, accented voice came from behind her. She didn't answer. It was so consolind to hear him again. She wasn't crazy. He was real.

The voice was more hesitant, "Sophie, can…. Can you hear me?"

She turned, and it was like no time had passed since her childhood. He looked the same. He looked relieved when she responded, and began to come closer, slowly, as if she would fade away like a marage. She stood to meet him, running forward and embracing him. So, so long since they'd met.

**A/N: This is not a romance. It is strictly friend-friend here. I mean she's 15 and he's, what? One hundred something. This is not animal twilight. I feel the same about Jamie and Jack. **

He hugged her back. She'd changed so much. The curious glimmer in her eyes was gone, replace with a cold intellect. She seemed to thaw, a bit, when they hugged.

They pulled apart. She smiled for a moment, and then the joy fell, in a sudden, hardening drift. She turned her back to him, returning to the place by the rock.

"You came," she said softly.

"Of course," he said, wanting to come closer but hindered by the slump in her shoulders.

She closed her eyes, "You shouldn't have,"

He paused shocked, "Where were you those two easters?" she hadn't been there a few years back.

She ran a hand through her hand, "The hospital,"

"Why?"

She turned, looking into his eyes with piercing sadness, "They- They said you weren't real. No one believed me. I was alone, and the nightmares," she flinched, "I'd scare my parents half to death waking in the middle of the night, screaming. I tried to explain to them, but they didn't understand. We tried counselors, and they told me over and over that it wasn't real. But I… I couldn't believe them. I should have pretended there. They told my parents I was insane, and I was sent to a hospital for two years,"

He stared at her, not believing what she'd been through…. What he'd caused, "And Jamie?"

She shook her head, "Forgot,"

He sighed, "I'm sorry,"

She turned bitter, "Me too,"

They were quiet.

"If you had just, just talked to me, once!" she yelled, her confusion and ager coming in a directive burst, "I could have dealt with it, could have lived with knowing about you and the others. I could have _kept_ the memories a secret! Maybe even stopped the nightmares," she realized how betrayed she truly felt.

Pan and shock crossed his face, "Sophie, I-"

"Don't," she dug her fingers into her hair, "Don't just…. I can't do this. Leave,"

He reached a hand toward her.

"Leave me alone! Never, never come back," tears streamed down her face, Just go away,"

So he left, injured by her words and weighted by guilt.


End file.
